Fallout: Unleashed
by RaidenTheSwordsman
Summary: He left the vault to search for his father who left without a word. However, instead of venturing the wasteland by himself, he has his best friend Amata with him and they meet the most unlikely ally to aid them in their search. Will he be able to reunite with his father? Or will the Capital Wasteland kill him and his allies. Takes place in Fallout 3 Universe. Rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

Two people in their late teens rushed through the the door and securely locked it behind them. One was male and the other female. Both were wearing a blue jumpsuit with the number '101' printed in yellow on their backs. The female had light brown skin and black hair done up in a bun. A few strands of her hair fell in front of her hazel eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. The male next to her had an athletic build caused by numerous hours of exercising and training. He had dark blue eyes and short messy black hair. He stood about six feet tall and had a mix of white and tan skin.

The male grabbed a pipe wrench from a nearby toolbox and jammed it into the door handle. "There that should hold them for a bit." He said as banging started coming from the door. "You ok Amata?" He turned to his companion who was still trying to regain her breath.

A full minute later, Amata stood up and looked around. They were at the entrance to Vault 101. There was a large gear shaped hole in the wall where the vault door would normally be. "Lucas I should be asking you that. You wake up to being attacked by vault security and radroaches simultaneously after your dad left. How can you be calm right now?" Amata asked surprised her best friend was taking everything so well.

Lucas and Amata stepped back from the door, "My dad teaching me to fight everyday of my life helps with that." He said. "We need to leave now. That door won't keep them at bay for long." He said and ran towards the opened vault door when he realized that Amata wasn't with him. "Amata, c'mon let's go!" He said as he saw her standing next to the control console.

Amata shook her head, "No Lucas… I can't go with you. I… I'd just be a burden to you and get us both killed." She said as she looked at the ten millimeter pistol on her waist. "I'm not a fighter like you are."

Lucas walked over to her and hugged her tightly. "If you stay here, your father will probably take out his anger on you and hurt you. I couldn't live with myself knowing that you were enduring such pain because of me. So let's leave together ok?" Lucas said.

Amata thought for a second, thinking of what would happen if she stayed. She finally came to the conclusion that it would be best to leave with Lucas and finally see what was outside of this vault. "I'll come with. To help you look for your father but we don't even know where to begin. I mean he could have gone anywhere and we have no way of finding him." Amata said looking into Lucas's eyes.

Lucas was about to respond when the door was busted open by Vault 101 guards and the Overseer himself. They began firing at Amata and Lucas. Lucas pushed Amata out of the way but took a bullet to the shoulder. He ignored the pain and began firing his ten millimeter back at the guards. He made sure to hit them in non-vital areas like the arms and legs. Lucas then shot the console that controlled the vault doors and pulled Amata through the massive doorway. The console that Lucas shot began to malfunction and caused the door to begin closing behind them.

Amata and Lucas ran towards the end of the cave as the door closed. Amata felt a twinge of sadness in her chest as she abandoned the home that she was raised in. Sure she did feel regret for leaving but her chances of surviving were much better if they were Lucas. She doubt she would last long in the vault if her father caught her.

They ran out of the cave and were greeted with blinding light from what they assumed was the sun. Amata gasped in horror at the sight before her. The entire land was completely scorched. There were buildings in the distance that seemed to be on the verge of collapsing or in the process of doing so. Below the edge of the rocks where she was standing, Amata saw what she could only assume were dogs, fighting over what appeared to be the carcass of a dead person. The dogs only had tufts of fur on them while the rest of their body had patches of burnt flesh and scars. Amata turned around and threw up on the ground at the sight.

Lucas rubbed Amata's back with his good arm as the contents of her breakfast resurfaced. 'So this is what the surface looks like. It doesn't shock me that this place looks like hell itself. Dad told me stories of the waste and told me never to tell anybody that we were from the surface.'

 **A/N Lucas already knows of his origins. He just doesn't know what his father was doing prior to coming to Vault 101.**

Lucas patted his side pocket to make sure the holotape his mother left for him was still there. It was the only thing he had that gave some insight into who she was.

Once Amata was done vomiting, she noticed the wound in Lucas's shoulder. "Lucas you're hurt." She said as she examined his wound.

Lucas simply shrugged, "I've felt worse. It can be easily fixed up with a stimpack and some cloth." Lucas said as he ripped part of his vault suit off and used it to patch the bullet hole in his shoulder with Amata's help. He then took one of the few stimpacks he had and injected himself with its medicine. "There look see?" Lucas said with a smile towards Amata who sighed.

"Alright fine but we need to find a place to stay the night. It's getting dark and I don't want to know what comes out at night." She said as she pointed towards the setting sun. Lucas pulled out his pistol and shot the the dogs that were coming towards them with a hungry look in their eyes.

Lucas pointed to a small house with a bunch of others. He checked his Pip Boy 4000 and saw that it was updating itself. The screen flashed once and a map of the entire area illuminated his Pip Boy. ' _Seems like the satellites that orbit the Earth still work. Guess dad was right about that one.'_ Lucas thought and saw the name of the destroyed town pop up on his Pip Boy as 'Springdale'. ' _They're still even able to tell us the name of places that existed Pre-war. Looks like Vault-Tec knew what they were doing when they launched those satellites.'_ Lucas looked over to Amata who was holding herself tightly and looking scared out of her wits. "Amata…" Lucas said while wrapping Amata in a hug while she finally broke down from the shock of everything and cried.

After a few minutes, Amata composed herself and looked at Lucas, "I… I want to get away from here now. Can we just go find shelter…" She said making Lucas smile and help her up. He walked over to the dead mongrel he shot and put two more bullets in his head to make sure it stayed dead. He picked it up and threw it over his shoulder.

"What are you planning on doing with that thing?" Amata asked intrigued and somewhat disgusted at Lucas touching the mutated animal.

"Well we're going to need food right? I could probably skin this thing for some leather to make some sort of blanket or bags for us to carry stuff with." Lucas replied as they made their way down the rocks and towards the nearest house. Lucas pulled out his pistol and motioned for Amata to do the same and open the door. Amata slowly pulled out her pistol as well and slowly opened the door. Lucas peeked through the doorway and noticed that the place was a mess but looking like nobody had even stepped foot in the home for at least a few weeks.

"Ok looks like we're clear." Lucas said as he walked into what he assumed was a kitchen and threw the mongrel on the table. Amata searched the rooms for anything that they could use for later.

Amata opened the door to the bathroom and gagged when the smell of rotting flesh hit her nose. ' _So glad I threw up earlier.'_ She thought as she saw two mutilated bodies sitting in the bathtub. "Oh my god…" She covered her mouth with her hand and backed up. Lucas came running out of the kitchen and towards her.

"Amata what's wro-" He stopped mid sentence when he saw the bodies. "Damn… Poor bastards…" Lucas said before closing the door and walking Amata towards the nearest bedroom which had a queen sized bed. "Stay in here Amata. Let me deal with the mess." He said, leaving her in the room.

Lucas removed the bodies from the house and same back in covered in some blood. Amata was in the living room waiting for him. "Lucas I found some new clothing for you." Amata showed Lucas the clothes she found and pushed him into the bedroom to change. When Lucas came out he was dressed in a pair of black pants with black boots on his feet. He had on a red long sleeve shirt with a black sleeveless jacket over top of it with a hood on the back of the jacket. There were pouches running from his left shoulder to his right hip. There was a pistol holster on his left leg which now housed his ten millimeter pistol.

Amata was dressed in some leather armor that fit her just right and would have been to0 small for Lucas. Lucas stared at her for a few seconds slightly stunned at the way the armor she wore hugged her curves very nicely. He shook his head to clear any inappropriate thoughts from his mind. "You look good Amata." Lucas said getting said girl to blush a bit but went unnoticed because of the dim lighting.

"I-I also found this rifle in one of the cabinets with some ammo. I don't know if I'd be able to handle it like you could so here." She said as she handed him a hunting rifle with an adjustable scope on it. On the side of the rifle was the word 'HOPE' etched into the wood.

Lucas shouldered the rifle and looked through the scope, getting a feel for its weight. He unloaded the gun and made sure that there were no bullets in the chamber. He pulled the trigger and a satisfying click came from the rifle. The rifle seemed to be in good condition. "Nice find Amata. This will definitely help later on." He said as he reloaded the weapon and set it against the couch.

Amata nodded still with a blush on her face and went back to searching the house for supplies. Lucas went into the kitchen to finish preparing the food. Lucas finished with the food and came out carrying two plates, one for him and one for Amata. He walked into the living room. "Amata?" He called out looking around. He got worried when there was no answer. He walked further into the room not noticing the figure approaching him from behind. "Ama-" He was cut off when the figure behind hit him on the back of the head with a baseball bat, knocking him out cold.

"Hehehe… we got ourselves two nice catches here. Boss will want to see them for himself. Bet he can tell us how much of a price these two will catch." A raider, who had snuck into the house, said as his companion brought out an unconscious Amata slung over his shoulder. "Shame we can't have fun with the girl first. Boss will kill us if we ruin the goods." He said as he slung Lucas's rifle over his shoulder.

His companion, a big muscled man who had a gas mask on, said nothing as he threw Lucas over his other shoulder while his raider buddy looted the place for anything else of value before both of them left the house but not before torching the house.

 **Scene Break**

When Lucas came to, he let out a groan and struggled to get up but found he couldn't. He tried to speak but found his mouth was covered by a gag. He looked behind him to see that Amata and him were tied together by a rope in the middle of a classroom that seemed to abandoned. ' _Where the hell are we at? Why are we tied up? What the hell happened?'_ He ran these questions through his mind.

Amata began to stir and she realized that she was in the same situation as Lucas was. She sent him a look that seemed to ask, ' _Where are we?'_. Lucas shook his head which made Amata's eyes grow in fear. Lucas looked around the room and saw that their weapons were on a nearby desk with their Pip Boys as well.

The door burst open and a large man with a mohawk walked through the door with a pair of sunglasses on his face. He had two sets of chains crossing over his chest and a pair of baggy red pants with black boots. He reeked of oil and sweat with a mixture of blood. "Well looks like our two new guests have awakened." The man said with a grin revealing his rotting teeth. Behind him were five other raiders, all were carrying chinese assault rifles and didn't look like any standard raiders out there. They didn't look drugged up like most raiders and had a look of seriousness in their eyes. All of them wore chest plates that looked heavily armored and had black outfits underneath the chest plates.

Lucas struggled against the bonds. The man punched Lucas in the head causing Lucas to grunt and Amata to let out a small squeak. "Now now. None of that. I'd rather not ruin the merchandise. My boys already did a number on you two when they caught you." The man said ignoring the glare that Lucas was giving him. "Now we just have to wait for the slavers to get here so we can negotiate price."

Thirty minutes passed by and the Raider boss seemed to be getting pissed off. "Where the hell are they?! They should have been here by now!" He yelled losing his cool. "One of you guys go find them!"

Before any of the four guards could move, a man burst through the door with his left arm missing and a few bullet holes in his right shoulder. His left eye was missing like it had been carved out. "BOSS WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" He yelled.

 _Flashback_

 _A raider patrol of five walked around the building that used to be a school obviously. They were to locate the slaver caravan and bring them to the boss. It was currently late into the night and the full moon was high above them._

 _The leader of the patrol stopped his men. "Hold up. What's that?" He said pointing towards what looked like a fire. The patrol ran towards to find a brahmin killed with bite and claw marks all over it. Some of the dead bodies had the same wounds, others had bullet holes in them. "What the hell? Is this the slave caravan?!" He exclaimed as he picked up a deactivated slave collar._

" _Boss we found a survivor!" One of the raiders yelled and he ran over to find a man with all four of his limbs cut off. "He's still breathing but it's like he seen a ghost."_

 _The leader knelt in front of the mutilated slaver. "Hey talk to me. What happened here?" He asked making the slaver flinch._

" _D-D-D-Death a-a-and his h-h-h-hound ambushed us… They killed everybody! YOU NEED TO RUN NOW!" The slaver exclaimed but he was silenced when a bullet entered his forehead. The raider group grabbed their weapons and turned to see a figure with a tattered brown cloak flowing behind him standing there with a rifle they had never seen in his hands. The figure held a Honey Badger, a pre-war weapon that was thought to be gone. The assault rifle had a holographic scope and an angled grip on its barrel. On his back was a sword still in its sheathe. The figure was obviously male and wore a pair of black cargo pants, combat boots, a grey vest with a grey shirt underneath. A strange device was attached to his left arm and the raiders couldn't figure out what it was. The cloak he had on obscured his face but the raiders could see a pair of emerald green eyes staring right at them and they looked to be filled with fury._

" _We'll kill you! You piece of sh-!" One of the raiders began saying before a giant white dog jumped on him and ripped his throat out. The raiders jumped away from their fallen comrade and readied their weapons. The dog was a massive white husky, almost the size of a Yao Guai cub. Its fur was matted with dried blood and its teeth were bared and dripping with blood. Its sky blue eyes never left the four remaining members._

" _DAMN MUTT!" One raider raised his rifle to shoot the oversized husky but he never got the chance to shoot because the figure had moved behind him and sliced his head clean off with his sword. The blade had a silver appearance to it as the moon and the fire reflected off the blade._

 _The remaining three raiders fired their guns at the man but he dodged each bullet almost like he saw their trajectory. He shot the two raiders with his Honey Badger and sliced the leaders left arm off and put a few bullets in his right shoulder. "Y-You sick fuck! You killed them!" He screamed in pain and anger._

 _The figure looked at him with amusement. "That's funny coming from somebody who kills, steals, and rapes. You even sell other people into slavery. I'm doing this world a favor by getting rid of you." He said as his canine companion sat next to where he was standing and began licking its blood coated fur. "Tell me where those two people you took are. Right now."_

" _Hah! You can't get their location out of me!" The raider yelled. The figure sighed._

" _I wanted to save you some pain but I guess that's not an option." He said pulling out a knife as he held down the raiders right arm while the husky laid across his legs. "Don't worry. This will only hurt a lot." The man said as the knife began to make its way towards the raider's eye._

 _Flashback End_

"You mean to tell me that a single man took out an entire slave caravan and an entire patrol?! Are you fucking kidding me!?" The raider boss screamed at the wounded raider before shooting him in the head with a .32 caliber pistol.

"Sir what should we do?" One of the guards asked.

"Stay here and get ready for a fight. Use the captives if you have to." The boss said as everybody took up positions around the room. They waited a few minutes as the sound of gunfire drew closer to them and then all was silent. The five in the room looked at each other. The door slowly creaked open and the raiders let a barrage of bullets fly right through the door causing the entire thing to splinter. The gunfire ceased and the door fell off of its hinges and onto the floor.

They slowly made their way forward when something bounced off the doorframe and landed at the boss raider's feet. At his feet was a flashbang grenade. "Oh shit…" He said before it went off blinding everybody in the room.

When Amata and Lucas's vision returned, they saw all four guards dead, each with a single bullet in their head. A cloaked figure stood over the leader who was laying on the floor and had a silver double edged sword buried deep into his gut. "Y-You fuck! You killed all my men! You've ruined my operations! Who the fuck do you think you are?!" The leader said as he began spitting up blood.

"My name is none of your concern. All you need to know is that I am the reason you die now." The figure said as he pulled his sword out of the raider's stomach and decapitated him. The head rolled away from the body and came to a rest near Amata who was scared out of her mind. The man approached them and raised his sword.

He brought his sword down and cut the ropes binding them. Lucas reacted quickly and grabbed the nearest assault rifle and pointed it at the man. "Who are you and what do you want with us?" Lucas asked keeping the gun aimed at the man who slowly sheathed his sword and slung the assault rifle onto his back, securing it with a strap.

"Relax I didn't come here to harm either of you." He said as Amata quickly ran behind Lucas. A large white husky walked through the door, dragging three large bags into the room. When it saw the gun aimed at its owner, it let out a low threatening growl as it slowly got ready to attack.

"Easy there girl." The man said to his canine companion. "Hey could you not aim that gun at me? Nasha hates it when people threaten me with weapons or try to rob me." He said in a calm voice as he rubbed the top of Nasha's head, scratching her ears as he did.

Amata looked into the man's eyes and she saw that there was no deception in them. She placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder.. "Lucas put the gun down. I don't think he's here to hurt us. Let's here what he has to say." She said.

Lucas reluctantly lowered his gun and walked over to where all their stuff was placed. He threw the rifle to the side realizing that the gun was broken due to a stray bullet destroying the firing mechanism. He slung his hunting rifle over his shoulder and holstered his pistol before putting his Pip Boy on. Amata stood next to him and grabbed her pistol and Pip Boy as well.

Lucas turned towards the figure. "Tell us who you are and why you're here." The man held his hands up in the air and Lucas realized that he was wearing a Pip Boy exactly like theirs. "How did you get a Pip Boy?" He demanded causing Amata to elbow his side.

"What my friend is asking… Where did you get your Pip Boy from? I know you probably got it from a vault but we want to know if you're from an actual vault or you scavenged it off somebody from a vault." Amata asked calmly much to Lucas's annoyance.

The man chuckled. "I am from a vault. I got my Pip Boy the same way you did. I know you are both from Vault 101. I saw you walk out of the cave that holds the entrance to Vault 101." Lucas aimed his hunting rifle at the man making Nasha growl.

"So you were spying on us?" Lucas questioned.

"Hey Hey Hey. No need to start aiming that gun at me. I saw you guys from a distance. Then I saw the girl with you vomit when she saw the mutts of the wasteland feasting on that dead guy. I was going to make contact with you guys but I wanted you guys to get used to the wasteland first." The man explained. "I was going to wait till morning to talk to you guys but these guys got you first. To be honest, you actually helped me complete my mission."

"Mission? What mission?" Amata asked curious.

"My mission was to take out these pieces of shit. They've been capturing the locals and selling them off to slavers to make some quick caps." He said gesturing to the dead raiders.

"Caps? Like bottle caps?" Amata asked.

"Yep. That's the currency that everybody uses. In the old days before everything went to hell, people used paper as currency." The man said as he held up a bag full of soda bottle caps. "Anyway, back to my mission. The sheriff of Megaton asked me to help out with this problem but I had difficulty tracking them. When you were captured, I figured that I could have Nasha follow your scent and lead me to you guys."

"So you used us as bait!?" Lucas yelled at him.

"Was never my intention to use you as bait. I can make it up to you if you follow. I know you're looking for a man who left the vault you guys did. I can help you find him." He said.

Lucas was skeptical for a second but sighed and lowered his gun, "If you can help me find my dad, I'll accept the help but do not double cross us."

The man seemed to smile behind the mask that came with the hooded cloak. "Great! We should probably loot this place for supplies before we leave." He turned to leave.

"Wait we should introduce ourselves first!" Amata exclaimed getting the man's attention. "My name is Amata Almodovar. Mr Grumpy over here is Lucas Blackburn my best friend." Amata said pointing to herself and then to Lucas who grunted before looking away. "What is your name?" She asked.

The man took off his cloak to reveal a five foot eight inch tall twenty year old with spiky blonde hair, a deep scar on his left cheek, and a bright smile on his face. "The name's Ashton Crux but you can call me Ash. This here is Nasha my faithful husky canine." He said scratching Nasha's ears getting her to bark happily. "We're from Vault 57. A vault all the way across the country in Alaska." He said with his grin still on his face.

 **Hey guys. I know I haven't updated any of my other stories lately but I will update them. I have a writing schedule set up on my profile. That will be the order I follow. I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of Fallout: Resurgence. I'm very excited for this story and I hope you guys enjoy it as well. This story is being cowritten with Dantekasaki (aka Chaz Liechti). He gave me the idea for the story. The MC is his character while the OC is my own. Thanks for reading guys. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the second chapter to the story.**

"Alaska? I read about that in one of the books in Vault 101." Amata said as she looked at Ash. "I read that it had a lot of major battles up there. I'm surprised that Vault-Tec was able to build a vault up there."

Ash scowled when Amata said Vault-Tec. Lucas looked at him with a curious glance as he looted ammo and caps off of the dead raiders. "You got something against them?"

"Yeah I do. You know how there are other vaults right?" Ash asked as he dragged a dead body over to a giant pile of bodies.

"Yeah we kinda realized that." Amata said. "Why?"

"Vault-Tec didn't create the vaults for our safety. They planned on using the vaults to conduct sick and twisted experiments on the residents." Ash said with his scowl still on his face. "I've been to a few other vaults. Those places were just…" He shivered when he remembered what some of the vaults had in them. "Let's just say that I couldn't eat meat for a week when I entered a vault that forced its inhabitants to eat each other."

Amata could only stare in shocked silence as her brain processed this information. Lucas looked at Ash, "What did your vault do?" Ash stiffened for a split second at Lucas's question but then it was gone. Lucas didn't miss this however.

"I don't know what they did." Ash simply answered, turning away from Lucas and Amata. Lucas was about push further knowing that Ash was lying but Amata elbowed her friend's side. She shook her head at Lucas which told him not to pry.

The group went silent as they continued searching for supplies. Nasha was digging through some of the rubble with her paws, looking for buried ammunition crates or medical boxes. Lucas and Ash were taking any ammunition, caps, and lockpicks they could get off the dead raiders while Amata, worked on taking inventory of what they had so far. She put the ammunition into the designated magazines and placed them into bags.

It was a few hours before they heard one of the doors burst open and then close immediately. They group all jumped and got ready for a fight when they saw a scavenger run around the corner with a missing left arm, a .32 caliber pistol in his remaining hand, and a german shepherd half limping and half running by his side. He stopped when he saw the group. Who all had guns pointed at him. "Woah woah woah! Don't shoot! I'm just a scavenger and we need to work together."

Lucas kept his hunting rifle pointed at the man, "What sort of problem? More raiders?"

The man shook his head. "Worse than that. Deathclaws. Two of them." Amata and Lucas looked at the man confused and then looked at Ash who had worry written all over his face.

"Ash what are Deathclaws?" Amata asked with worry, hoping they were something harmless.

"Deathclaws are the most vicious and deadly beasts in the wasteland. I usually steer clear of them and use explosives when I have too but…" He trailed off as a huge crash echoed throughout the building followed by two loud roars that shook the entire building. "We need to hide. Now." He whispered. The group plus the injured man and dog grabbed what they could before darting into the nearest classroom.

Ash silently closed the door shut behind them but part of the top corner of the door was missing. They huddled in the back corner away from the door. Nasha stood protectively in front of the german shepherd while Amata worked on fixing the dog's hind leg which had a massive slash through it. The one armed man now held a 10mm pistol instead of his .32 pistol since they needed all the firepower they could use. Ash had his Honey Badger trained on the door and flipped its switch from single shot to full auto. Lucas had a Chinese assault rifle in his hands with his hunting rifle laying next to his feet.

Heavy thuds started getting closer to them and a giant black head with horns pointed upwards passed by the corner of the door. The giant form stopped and bent down. The group could hear the crunching of bones and tearing of flesh.

Ash moved closer to the scavenger and leaned whispered in his ear, " _Are they both Alpha Deathclaws?"_ The man nodded slightly not taking his eyes off the massive beast near the door.

They stood there for what seemed like an hour but in reality it was only five minutes. Soon the Deathclaw stomped away from the door and moved farther away from the group. They all let out a small sigh of relief. The scavenger was the first to move towards the door but moved slowly as to not make much noise. When he stopped at the door he peered through the hole in the corner and let out a sigh of relief.

He turned the group and gave a small smile and thumbs up before a massive clawed hand smashed through the door and grabbed him. He dropped his pistol as he was pulled out of the room. The group could hear his screams of pain as the deathclaw tore him apart limb from limb as it devoured him. The death claw through the remains of the scavenger back into the room and started trying to squeeze itself through the small door frame. It could only get it's head and one bloodied hand through the door as it tried to push through. Its beady red eyes were locked onto the group as it gnashed its giant teeth at the group.

"OPEN FIRE!" Ash yelled as he and Lucas started spraying bullets into the Deathclaw causing it to roar in pain as one of the bullets went straight through its eye. Ash pulled two frag grenades out of his vest and tossed one to Lucas who caught it. They both pulled the pin on the grenades. With practiced aim, they threw their grenades at the Deathclaw's mouth. Ash's grenade was swiped to the side but Lucas's grenade hit its mark and went right down the Deathclaw's throat. Ash's grenade went off and caused some shrapnel to embed itself in the Deathclaw's outstretched arm. The Deathclaw roared in pain but was silenced when the grenade in its stomach went of sending its guts flying everywhere.

The beast collapsed the ground dead as the light left its remaining eye. Ash quickly rushed over the beast and stabbed his sword through the Deathclaw's head making sure it was dead.

"That's a Deathclaw." Ash said kicking the Deathclaw's head once. "We need to move now. THat scavenger said that there were two Alpha Deathclaws here. The other one will be searching for us now." Ash looked back to Amata and Lucas, the former checking on the German Shepherd.

"The dog is not moving. He's injured and we can't carry him out while that thing is still out there. We need to kill it before we can leave." Amata said as she ran her hand through the dog's fur.

"You're not winning this argument." Lucas said as he reloaded his rifle and switched the holster for his pistol from his left hip to his right. "She's always been stubborn. Once she has her mind set on something she will go through with it to the end. I say we deal with the damn thing before it gets us."

Ash thought for a second before sighing, "Fine. We need a plan first. I only have two magazines of ammunition left on me. I only brought a few clips because I thought I'd only be dealing with Raiders and Nasha is strong enough to deal with a Deathclaw herself."

"Do you have any more grenades or explosives?" Lucas asked as he rummaged through the backpacks.

"I have a few grenades left, a few sticks of dynamite, a flashbang grenade, and two blocks of C4. Why?" Ash brought out the mentioned items and put them on the ground.

Lucas only smirked at Ash as he grabbed the explosives.

The second Alpha Deathclaw was feasting on the pile of dead bodies when it heard the roar of the other Deathclaw followed by screams, gunfire, and then two explosives and then silence. It stood up listening for any signs of its partner. When it heard nothing but silence it slowly made its way down the hallways towards where it last heard fighting. It squeezed through the massive archway only to see its partner lying in a pool of its own blood, with its stomach blow open. It growled as it saw a blood trail leading away from the door where the other Deathclaw as at.

The beast sniffed the air as it followed the blood trail, red eyes looking around as they searched for prey. The Deathclaw was so busy looking for prey that it didn't notice the tripwire on the floor. As the beast stepped on the tripwire, two blocks of C4 attached to the walls by its head went off causing some shrapnel to embed itself in the Deathclaw's head while also disorienting it. It grabbed its head and roared in agony as blood covered its face.

"NOW!" A voice called as a few objects were thrown from the corner towards the disoriented Deathclaw. A few sticks of dynamite landed at the Deathclaw's feet. The beast was thrown off its feet as the dynamite went off. It regained its bearings and started to get up when a flashbang hit its face and went off causing the beast to roar in annoyance. "GRENADES NOW!" Grenades were thrown at the underbelly of the Deathclaw. They caused major damage to the Deathclaw when they went off but the beast still was alive.

"Shit! It's still getting up!" Lucas yelled as he started firing at the Deathclaw who finally noticed Lucas and Ash firing at hit. Despite its injuries, the Deathclaw still managed to let out a roar that shook the building and charged the two.

Ash and Lucas were thrown off their feet as the Deathclaw smashed through the wall. The Deathclaw went skidding towards the end of the room where it smashed into the wall causing rubble to fall on top of it. Ash stood up with his sword unsheathed and his gun lying next to the Deathclaw's thrashing form. Ash looked around and saw that Lucas had been thrown through the door of one of the classrooms that they didn't have a chance to check yet. Ash let out a growl as the Deathclaw rose from the rubble, staring him down with an angry and hungry look. Ash dashed towards the beast hoping he would be able to slice it open so that they could finish it.

Meanwhile, Lucas was staring at the ceiling feeling quite disoriented after being thrown through a door. As he sat up, his hand brushed against something big and metallic. Once he regained his bearings, he looked up to see Ash trying to slice open the Deathclaw but only managing to cut its arm. Lucas started to get up and brushed the object from earlier out of the way as he did. He looked down and his eyes widened at what was next to him. A rocket launcher lay next to him with a few missiles next to it. He grinned and picked up the launcher, reloading it with one of the missiles. He ran out of the classroom in time to see the Deathclaw smack Ash into the wall with the back of its hand.

"HEY UGLY!" Lucas yelled at the Deathclaw causing the Deathclaw to turn away from where Ash had landed. "SUCK ON THIS!" Lucas fired at the Deathclaw. The Deathclaw didn't have any time to dodge as the rocket slammed into its chest and exploded. Its body was sent crashing through the wall behind it. Lucas dropped the rocket launcher and made his way over to where Ash was sitting against the wall. "You ok?" Lucas asked concerned.

"Why are there three of you in front of me?" Ash asked shaking his head to clear it. After a few minutes of resting, both of them got up and retrieved their weapons along with the rocket launcher and ammunition they had found. Ash injected himself with a stimpack as they went around collecting their gear. He had a slight limp as they opened the door to the outside where Amata was waiting with the two dogs.

"Lucas! Ash! Are you guys ok!?" Amata said as she rushed towards both of them noticing their injuries.

Lucas touched his forehead and saw a bit of blood on his fingertips. There were a couple shards of metal in Lucas's left arm.

Lucas looked over at Ash and saw that his right arm had rivulets of blood running down it and his cloak was in tatters. He had a slash mark across his chest but there was no wound.

"You both are hurt. Stimpacks aren't going to help with your injuries. We need to find someplace where we can get you guys fixed up." Amata said as he checked their injuries. "Where's the nearest civilization?"

Ash pointed in the direction of a giant metal dome a good distance away. "That way but we won't make it on foot. However… I do have something that can get us there faster and it would be a hell of a lot safer than walking. Follow me and bring the dog too." He said as he holstered his gun on his back and used the remains of his cloak to cover up the wound on his arm.

"What do you have that could possibly get us there faster?" Lucas asked as he picke up the German Shepherd and carry him on his shoulders.

Ash grinned. "Something that nobody else in the wasteland has." He said as he led the group behind a couple of collapsed buildings

The group rounded the corner of one of the buildings and came to a massive vehicle in perfect condition. "I-Is that… an APC?" Amata stuttered out causing Ash's grin to grow wider.

"Why yes it is. There's probably a few of these bad boys left in this world." Ash said as he patted the hull. The APC had a desert camo painted onto it and was long enough to fit at least twenty people. On top was a .50 caliber machine gun and had armor plated wheels.

"Where in hell did you get this thing?" Lucas said as he and Amata followed Ash around the APC to the back.

"Let's just say that Vault-Tec had a few prewar goodies lying around. This baby is one of them. Figured that Vault-Tec wouldn't have any need for it so I decided to do the world a favor and make sure that they can't have it." Ash said as a Retinal Scanner next to the rear door started scanning his eye and opened for him.

Inside the APC there were a few beds along the one side and on the other side there was a workbench with parts scattered on the table. There was a metal cabinet filled with outfits just like the one Ash was wearing. There was a very large dog bed by one of the beds.

Ash went over to a cabinet next to the workbench and pulled out a large box that had a green medical symbol on it. Ash pulled out two stimpacks and a Med-X before handing the box over to Amata. "Try and fix up the dog and Lucas as best you can. We'll get better treatment once we get to Megaton." He said as he injected the Med-X into himself and then used the stimpack on himself then Nasha who had curled up on her dog bed.

"What about you? You're bleeding badly, you're walking with a slight limp, and you probably have some kind of internal wound." Amata said as she examined Lucas, wiping away the blood on his forehead.

"Yeah you were backhanded into the wall by that Deathclaw. You probably have some kind of internal injury." Lucas said as he winced when Amata put Hydrogen Peroxide on his head wound.

"Don't worry about me. I've taken worse. Besides, I don't have the equipment here that could really help with anything like that. I do know someone in Megaton that could help but he's always grumpy." Ash said as he climbed into the driver's seat. The APC roared to life and started heading in the direction of Megaton.

"So how are you able to find gas for this thing? It has to be extremely scarce by now." Lucas asked as they went along the road.

"Gas? This thing doesn't run on gas. It runs on electricity. Mainly solar energy." Ash said as he hit the peddle and increased the speed of the APC.

"How the hell did you manage to get this giant ass thing to run on electricity? Some cars could barely even run themselves on electricity alone from what I've read and what my father has told me." Lucas said as he pulled a picture of him and father out of his pocket.

"Vault-Tec designed and built this thing remember? I have the blueprints that they built this thing with. Guess where they kept that? In one of the goddamn cabinets on this thing." Ash said as he pulled up in front of Megaton. "Ok let's get out."

They all got out of the vehicle and went up to the gates of Megaton which began opening as soon as they got to it. They walked in through the gates and were greeted by a dark skinned man wearing a sheriff's had and a sheriff's coat while a Chinese assault rifle was slung over his shoulder. He had a full beard and brown eyes. "Welcome to Megato-" He stops when he sees Ash. "You're back and you brought people with you. You all look like hell. Were the raiders that well armed?"

"No I killed all the raiders with ease as well as some slavers. We had to deal with two Alpha Deathclaws that were chasing after a scavenger and the dog on Nasha's back." Ash explained.

"Deathclaws? Out this far? What happened to the scavenger who was with the dog?" Lucas asked taking a quick glance at the dog. Everybody's mood darkened at the mention of the unnamed scavenger. "I see… I'll send a group of people out to clean up raider's bodies and see if there's anything worth scavenging and using. I'll also inform them to bury the scavenger… Whatever is left of him anyway. You should go see Church and get yourselfs fixed up. I'll have someone look after your vehicle." He said as he walked away towards a group of guards.

They started walking straight down the road. Amata was looking around at the town. It was mainly constructed of what looked scraps of metal and old airplane parts. When she looked ahead, she saw a giant undetonated bomb in the middle of the down. There was a man kneeling in the water that surrounded the bomb praying with a few people behind him praying as well. "What are they doing to the bomb?" She said to Ash as they passed the bomb.

"They would be the Children of Atom. They're a bunch of religious nuts that pray for 'Atom', their god, to split their atoms to create something or some shit like that." Ash explained to Amata.

Lucas let out a grunt, "Yeah best we stay away from them then. I don't feel like dealing with radiation." They entered a building that was designated as the clinic. Unknown to them, a man wearing a fedora, a clean suit, and a pair of sunglasses had been watching them and listening in on their conversation.

"Hmm seems I found some people to help me rid this place." He said with a grin.

 **Ok that's where I'm ending this chapter because I feel it's a good stopping point. Leave some reviews about what you liked, what you didn't like or just a questions about the story. I'm also looking for someone who be willing to draw a cover image for this story. PM if you have something.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok so I haven't been updating as much lately. Few reasons. First one was school kicking my ass. New semester and harder classes. Second reason, I've been working on another story and kinda forgot about the other 2. Third and most important, back in september I posted about shit being on hiatus because of family issues. Well those issues were with my father. We weren't fighting but… In September we found out he had a rare form of Prostate Cancer and it hit everybody hard. I ended up picking up more shifts to help pay for my dad's surgery. He's doing good now but that is the biggest reason why I wasn't updating. Ok enjoy the chapter.**

"I can't believe any of you!" A dark skinned man wearing doctor fatigues, grumbled angrily as he patched up the german shepard's leg. "You guys come in here and make my job harder by having to fix you up and now you're making me fix up this dog?!" He continued his rant but it fell on deaf ears as Ashton sat in one of the chairs sharpening his blade with Nasha laying next to his chair. Lucas sat next to him cleaning his hunting rifle and Amata sat next to the operating table, scratching the german shepard's head.

"Yeah Yeah whatever Doc…" Ashton said as he threw a bag of caps at Doc Church who merely scowled at him. "Your company was enjoyable as always." Ashton grinned at the dark skinned man who glared at him with such intensity that it seemed like he was trying to make Ashton catch on fire.

Amata covered her mouth with her free hand as she tried to hold back the laughter. Even Lucas was having trouble trying not to laugh at Ashton as he messed with the doctor.

Doc Church let out a sigh of frustration, "Just go before I undo everything I did you you people."

The group was all but pushed out of the Megaton clinic right into Sheriff Lucas's path. Sheriff Lucas just looked at the still grinning Ashton and shook his head. "Must you antagonize him like that?" Ashton's grin grew wider giving the sheriff his answer. "I will never understand your need to do that to him." He sighed as he pulled out a bag of caps and through them to Ashton. "I added a little extra for taking care of those Deathclaws. If you hadn't we would have even worse problems than raiders." He tipped his hat to them and walked off towards the entrance.

"So what should we do now?" Amata asked as she scratched the german shepherd's ears.

"Name that dog?" Lucas said as he took a portion of the caps that Ashton was handing him. "I vote Rex." This caused the dog to give Lucas a weird look.

"How about Dogmeat?" Amata suggested causing the dog to bark happily. "Dogmeat it is." She happily rubbed Dogmeat's fur.

Ashton and Lucas just looked at Amata with the most confused looks. "Dogmeat? The fuck?" Ashton asked.

"What? I read a book that had a dog named Dogmeat so I thought it would be a good name for him." She said with a pout. "Besides he likes the name!" She said as she gestured towards Dogmeat who was happily wagging his tail.

"Fine fine whatever. First we need to get some supplies but then we need to get information on where your father went." Ashton said as he led the group up the stairs and in front of a building that had a giant sign above it that said 'Supply'. "Word of warning Moria can be a little… Nutty. Don't let her inject you with anything either." Ashton said as he pushed open the door and walked inside with Nasha following him.

Amata and Lucas looked at one another with raised eyebrows. They jumped when they heard a loud bang and a thud. They both rushed inside to see Ashton laying on the floor with a woman that had red hair and green eyes, wearing a RobCo jumpsuit, sitting on his stomach. Next to them was some sort of device that was sparking. Nasha just stood next to the device prodding it with her paw. "Owie that hurt!" The woman said as she rubbed her head. She looked down to see Ashton groaning. "Oopsie!" She quickly got of Ashton brushing off her jumpsuit as she stood to full height. She picked up the device Nasha was prodding with her paw and started inspecting it. Nasha padded over to Ashton, who was still laying on the floor, sniffing his hand before prodding him with her paw.

"Uh…" Lucas stared at the woman with disbelief. She had managed to immobilize Ashton just by falling on top of him. He didn't know whether to be impressed or concerned. Impressed about immobilizing Ashton, or concerned that she was more worried about her malfunctioning… whatever she held in her hand.

Amata cleared her throat, "Excuse me miss. You just landed on our friend." The woman looked up Amata before looking down at Ashton who Nasha was now trying to drag to the couch with the help of Dogmeat.

The woman blushed heavily in embarrassment. "He'll be fine!" She exclaimed as she watched his arm twitch slightly. "From what he's told me he's survived way worse!" She closed her eyes in thought for a second before they popped open. "Oh where are my manners! I'm Moira Brown. Owner of the Craterside Supply! You two are friends of Ashy?"

"Ashy?" Lucas nearly failed in holding back his laughter.

"Oh yes that's the nickname I gave to him! He came in one day covered in sooooo much dust and his name has the word ash in it so I thought to start calling him Ashy!" Moira said happily as she tossed the device onto the workbench before stepping behind the counter. "Can I know your names?" She asked with a bright smile.

"I'm Amata and this is Lucas." Amata said gesturing to herself and Lucas. "We're from Vault 101. A bit Northwest from here." Amata said as she stepped up to the counter.

"You're vault dwellers like Ashy is? He did tell you that his vault…" Moira started rambling before she was cut off when a hand clamped down over her mouth, cutting off whatever she was going to say.

Ashton stood behind her looking fearful of whatever she was about to say. "My vault was destroyed by the reactor blowing up." Ashton said with a nervous smile. Amata looked at him weirdly while Lucas narrowed his eyes at him.

"Ashton. Is there something you're not telling us?" Lucas said as he stared suspiciously at Ashton.

Ashton sighed and looked to the side. "I'd rather not talk about it. It's… A memory I no longer want to relive."

Lucas was about to pressure Ashton more but Amata stopped him with a glare. "Lucas stop. If it's something he doesn't wish to discuss right now it is not our business to pry."

"He could have been a raider living in a vault for all we know! How can you trust him so easily!" Lucas shot back with annoyance.

A shot went off and everybody looked at Moira who was holding a 10mm pistol in her hand which was aimed at the ceiling. She had an annoyed looked her face which quickly went to her cheerful personality in a flash. "Everybody done arguing? Good!" She said cheerfully. "Now we can get down to why you're here… Wait… Why are you here anyway?" She asked looking at the three of them.

Ashton was the first to speak, "We're here to sell off some gear that we won't need, pick up supplies, and get some equipment repaired." Ashton said quickly, avoiding the gaze of his companions. Nasha whined at her owner's withdrawn tone and nuzzled her snout into his hand.

Moira looked at Lucas, who was still glaring daggers into Ashton's back, and Amata looked back at Moira with a brief nod. She sighed, her cheerful demeanor changing to an annoyed one. "Ok. Amata, Lucas. Can you two unload the equipment you scavenged with the dogs. I need to have a private word with Ashton."

Amata dragged Lucas out of the building, with Nasha and Dogmeat following closely behind. Ashton watched them go, leaving him alone with Moira. Moira cleared her throat to get Ashton's attention. "What?"

"You know what. Hiding what happened at the vault won't do you any good. That man, Lucas, doesn't trust you already and soon enough the woman won't either." Moira said with a serious and stern tone. "What happened wasn't your fault and you know it."

Moira walked out from behind the counter and headed towards the door. A hand grabbed her arm before she could reach the door. "You say that but… Everyday I remember what happened. I have to live with the guilt everyday." Ashton said before letting go of her arm.

Moira headed towards the door but she turned around to look at Ashton. "I know you feel guilty but the best thing to do… Is to let it go." She said with a small comforting smile. "Now let's go see what goodies you brought me!" She said with her cheerful attitude back. She ran out the door leaving Ashton behind to think on her words before walking back to his APC where everybody else was waiting.

Ashton stood there for a few seconds longer before sighing and running after Moira. When he arrived at the APC, he found Moira already pulling stuff out of the APC with Lucas and Amata staring at the woman with shocked looks on their faces. "What happened?" Ashton asked as he stepped up next to them.

Amata turned towards Ashton. "She just walked right up to the retinal scanner, pulled out a screwdriver, and in the next second the door to the APC opened. She hacked that thing like it was the simplest thing in the world!" Amata exclaimed as she gestured towards the slightly crazy woman carrying full bags of weapons.

Ashton looked at Moira simply shrugging as she grinned at them. "Honestly… Only she could hack a retinal scanner with a screwdriver. She's done it before and will probably continue to do so. Can't really stop her." Ashton shrugged again as he watched the woman sift through the bags of weapons with a gleam in her eye. "Let's go get some food. Moira make sure to leave some supplies for us. We're going to need."

Lucas crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'We'?"

"I'm coming with to help you. You don't know the wastes as well as I do." Ashton said as he led the two former vault dwellers through Megaton's giant doors while their canine companions followed behind them.

Lucas was about to protest but before he could, Amata's hand covered his mouth. "Thank you. We appreciate it. Right Lucas?" She said as she sent a warning glare at Lucas telling him not to argue.

Lucas grumbled while removing Amata's hand from his mouth as he stare at Ashton's back. "Fine but if you do anything that may endanger Amata I will kill you myself."

Ashton shrugged as they came to a building on the upper catwalks called Moriarty's Saloon. "Before we go in, a word of advice." Ashton turned around in front of the door as he looked at the two behind him. "Do not trust Moriarty. He's a sleazeball that would sell his own mother for a few caps."

"Sounds like you have something against him." Lucas said as he noticed Ashton's hand clench into a fist.

"You could say something like that. Let's just get something to eat and get out of here." Ashton pushed the door open and walked into the saloon.

Lucas looked at Amata. "Amata he's hiding something from us. We can't trust him."

Amata sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Listen Lucas. I know you don't trust people easily but please give him a chance. He could have killed us after killing the raiders or let the raiders sell us to the slavers and then steal the caps from them." Amata said as she looked down at Nasha who was staring at the door with a snarl. "Do you think a dog as sweet as Nasha would be traveling with Ashton if he wasn't a good person?"

Lucas opened his mouth to retort but closed it as he had no way to discredit what Amata was saying. Lucas let out a sigh as he looked down at the massive white Husky who was staring at him with her head cocked to the side. "Fine. I'll give him a chance but I stand by my threat."

Amata nodded and patted his cheek. "That's all I ask. Now let's get some food. I haven't eaten anything since before we left the vault." She happily walked into the saloon with a spring in her step while Nasha followed her in looking just as happy.

Lucas watched her go before looking down at Dogmeat who was staring at Nasha. "Trust me boy… Women are manipulative as hell." Lucas rubbed the top of Dogmeat's head as he began walking in after them.

Once Lucas entered, he was immediately hit with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and smoke coming from cigarettes. Lucas scrunched his nose in annoyance as he looked around for Amata or Ashton. He didn't spot either of them but he did see Nasha standing on her hind legs with her paws on the counter, with her snout stuck in a bowl filled with dog food. Behind the counter scratching her ears was a man or more like what was left of a man. Skin was peeling off of his face and his eyes looked slightly sunken into his head. There wasn't much hair left on his head.

Nasha didn't seem to mind his presence. If anything, she seemed to enjoy the ear scratching she was receiving from the man. Since he wasn't able to find Amata or Ashton, Lucas decided to approach the bar counter. To speak to the man. "Hey there. I see you know Nasha."

The decaying man looked at Lucas in surprise like he wasn't expecting someone to talk to him. "Wait you're not going to give me shit for how I look?" He asked with suspicion.

"Uh… No?" Lucas looked confused at this. He knew what this man was. Hearing his father's stories about the wasteland, he knew all about ghouls and what caused them to look like that. "I know you're a person who was exposed to too much radiation but it doesn't exactly make you less human." Lucas said with a shrug.

The man seemed taken aback by Lucas's answer. "I already like you. Most of the people who come in here take one look at me and do one of two things. They either laugh and insult me or hit me. Sometimes both. Names Gob by the way." Gob extended his free hand out to Lucas who took his hand and shook it.

Lucas looked at Gob with a confused as he shook Gobs hand. "Your boss won't do anything to stop it?"

Gob shrugged. "Half the time Moriarty is the one doing it. He's not in right now. Thank god for that." Gob let out a relieved sigh. "So since you know the name of Nasha, I'm assuming you know Ashton?"

It was Lucas's turn to shrug. "You could say something like that. He saved me and my friend from a bunch of raiders. By the way have you seen him or the woman that just came in with Nasha?"

Gob took a second to look around before his eyes landed on a head of spiky blonde hair coming out of a room in the back followed by a woman with messy red hair that was cut short wearing a blue top with a skirt and fishnet leggings. "Right there."

Lucas looked at the woman. To him she looked like a prostitute that he found in a book once. His dad had a very annoyed conversation with the vault member who left it lying around after he caught Lucas with it. "Were she and Ashton… You know? Going at it?"

Gob shook his head and leaned down closer to Lucas's ear. "No. Nova is more of an informant for Ashton. He's been trying to find someone that Moriarty kidnapped and sold into slavery. He pays Nova caps to get whatever information she can on their location." Gob then noticed the grin that adorned Ashton's face. "And it looks like Nova came through for him."

Lucas looked at Ashton's smirk. "Who's he looking for?"

"No idea. Neither Nova nor Ashton would tell me." Gob said with a shrug. As he went to serve some other customers who were throwing insults at him.

Nova sat in the stool next to Nasha and began rubbing Nasha's neck. Ashton sat next to Lucas still grinning. "Mind telling me what that grin is about?" Lucas asked as he turned towards Ashton.

"Well… I got some information pertaining to a certain missing father of yours plus something else that pertains to something I'm looking for." Ashton said causing Lucas's attention to be fully on him.

"You got information about my father?" Lucas asked as Amata returned from wherever she had been.

"What's this about Lucas's father?" Amata asked tilting her head to the side. Nasha pulled herself off of the counter so that Amata could sit at the stool next to Lucas. "And what's this other information you have?"

"Lucas's father was heading towards Galaxy News Radio which is in the center of the city." Ashton explained as he pulled up his Pipboy's map and showed Amata and Lucas the location of the place. "Its a radio station that is run by a guy named Three Dog. Pretty cool guy by the way. As for the second piece of info I have… We'll have to wait until we're in the APC before I explain that."

Lucas stared at Ashton for a few seconds before sighing. "Fine but once we get back in the APC you're explaining a whole lot of shit." Lucas turned to Gob and ordered a steak and a beer while Amata asked for a bowl of noodles, a few apples, and a bottle of water. Ashton got a plate of Yao Guai meat with a beer as well. Two bowls of dog food were given to the two canines one of whom ate like she had never eaten before while the other canine savored his food.

They ate their food and said their goodbyes to Nova and Gob who were both slipped large sums of caps. On their way out, they found out that the sun had set and the stars above were visible. They passed by a gap in one of the buildings as they headed towards the entrance to Megaton.

As Amata passed by the the gap in the building, an arm quickly came out and wrapped around her neck while a 10mm pistol with a silencer was pressed to the side of her head. A man wearing a light grey business suit, dark sunglasses, and a pre war hat stood there holding Amata hostage. To his side was a man with a silenced assault rifle that was aimed at Dogmeat and Nasha. "Hands behind your heads. None of you move or this lovely woman gets a bullet in her head." Lucas and Ashton put their hands behind their heads as the dogs sat down submissively with their posture slouched. Lucas discreetly activated the recording function on his Pipboy while his hands were behind his head. "Good. Now do exactly as I say and she will not be harmed."

The man looked between Ashton and Lucas to make sure he had their undivided attention. "My name is Mr Burke. My employer would like this pile of scrap that these people call a town, wiped off the face of the earth. You do this, not only will I let the girl live, but you will get to live in the luxurious Tenpenny Tower."

"Blow up the town? Are you fucking for real? Do you realise how much fire power it would take to level this place even if we wanted to?" Ashton said with annoyance in his voice.

Mister Burke chuckled at this. "Oh believe me I do. Fortunately there's something that can level this town right behind you."

Both Lucas and Ashton slowly turned around to stare at the bomb located in the center of Megaton. "Oh shit…" Lucas said as he stared the bomb.

"Now you see how to do it. Ross give the boy the charge." Burke said as his companion pulled out a small component and handed it to Lucas who reluctantly took it. "Now attach that the bomb and you'll be let go before it detonates."

Lucas looked down at the device he held and then up at Amata who's eyes pleaded him not to. He looked over at Ashton who had managed to get his right hand on the handle of his sword. Lucas looked back at Burke who had a grin on his face thinking he had won. In one swift movement, Lucas threw the device into Ross's face causing the mercenary to be stunned for a second. That second was all Lucas needed as he disarmed the mercenary and put two bullets in the man's knees.

Ashton meanwhile, had stood idly by. He had thrown his sword right at Burke as he had been unable to process what had just happened to the guard. Ashton's sword Impaled the man in the shoulder causing him to drop his gun and release Amata from his hold. Dogmeat jumped on top of Burke causing him to fall over. Amata ran into Lucas's arms, burying her face into his chest while Nasha stood over top the mercenary in front of them with her teeth bared.

"Amata are you ok?"Lucas said as he rubbed her back. He noticed the sheriff walking towards them with his gun at the ready.

Amata nodded her head still not loosening her embrace or looking up at him. "I'm ok… I was just… scared you would actually do it. I saw the hesitation in your eyes when you looked at me."

"Amata…" He rubbed the back of her head. "I would have done all in my power to save you and prevent Megaton from blowing up. Look how it turned out." He motioned his chin to Ashton who was busy pulling his sword out of Burke's shoulder while Simms put his hands in cuffs. Amata watched as Ashton wasn't gentle when pulling the sword out. She even noticed the look of amusement in his eyes as he did so.

"Can we just go… I don't want to be here anymore." Amata said causing Lucas to nod.

He and Amata walked over to the sheriff, Lucas popping a small tape out of his Pipboy and handing it to Sheriff Simms. "Here. I recorded everything he said. He wanted to blow up Megaton and everybody in it."

Simms looked at the tape and then at Burke with a scowl on his face before looking back at Lucas with a softer expression. "Thank you. We'd probably all be dead if not for you. Way I see it, you're a member of Megaton. So take this." He pulled out a key from his duster's pocket and handed it over to Lucas. "It's a key to the house by the entrance by Megaton. It's yours as far as I'm concerned." Simms began walking away with Burke and his companion in tow thanks to Nasha and Dogmeat dragging them by their legs.

Ashton walked up to them with his hands in his pockets. "So… That happened. So what should we do?"

"We stay here tonight. We now have a house in Megaton that we can crash at instead of camping out in that stuffy APC of yours." Lucas said as he looked at the key and then at Amata. "Plus I think we should give Amata a chance to rest."

"Alright." Ashton shrugged as they walked towards the house closest to the Megaton gate. "I say we leave around nine tomorrow. There's a few things I want to get from Moira."

"Sounds good but can you tell me about the information that doesn't pertain to my father once we get inside?" Lucas asked noting the slightly angry expression that was on Ashton's face.

"I will but first lets make sure we're away from ears that don't need to hear this." Ashton said as they walked the rest of the way in silence. Once they arrived at the house, Amata's eyes were barely open as she began to lean against Lucas, muttering incoherent words.

Lucas opened the door before picking up Amata bridal style. Amata didn't even have the energy to protest, instead she simply snuggled into his arms. The house was spacious with the living room consisting of mostly of a couch, an arm chair, and a bobblehead stand. There was a kitchen in the back with a deactivated Mr. Handy robot sitting next to the door. There were stairs leading up to a few other rooms that were probably bedrooms. Lucas carried Amata upstairs as he opened a few of the doors trying to find the main bedroom. He finally found it and inside wasn't much. Only a queen sized bed for two people, a desk, and a door leading to a small bathroom.

Lucas decided to lay Amata down on the bed while putting two pillows underneath her head while also covering her with a thin blanket. Dogmeat and Nasha came into the room and laid at the foot of the bed to make sure nothing happened to Amata. "Good dogs." Lucas said as he rubbed both their heads gratefully. He silently left the room, closing the door behind him. He walked down the steps to find Ashton messing with the robot. "Lucas cleared his throat causing Ashton to jump, accidentally hit a switch on the robot, and turn it on.

"Hello sirs! I am Wadsworth! I'll be serving to your every need! Is there anything you need currently?" Wadsworth asked as he floated in front of Lucas and Ashton.

Lucas looked at the robot and nodded. "Could I get some water?"

"Of course sir! Anything for you?" The robot turned to Ashton who shook his head. "Very well. I'll be back." Wadsworth floated into the kitchen. Meanwhile Ashton took a seat on the couch, leaning his sword on the side of the couch.

Lucas took a seat in the armchair across from Ashton waiting for him to explain. After a minute of silence, Ashton took off his cloak before looking at Lucas. "Remember how I said I came from a vault in Alaska?"

Lucas nodded as he remembered what Ashton said about his vault. "Yeah I remember. You said you didn't know what Vault-Tec was experimenting on at your vault."

Ashton sighed. "I lied about not knowing what they did. I know you don't trust me but I need you to know that I'm just not… comfortable about talking about what happened or why I left. What happened at my vault is something I just wish to bury." Ashton said as a tear slid down his face.

Lucas didn't know what to say. He was stunned that Ashton actually admit to lying about what happened. Lucas felt a bit guilty, he could see the genuine sadness in Ashton's eyes. "I'm sorry… for whatever happened. Does this relate to the information you received earlier?"

Ashton wiped away the stray tear but his eyes still held the sadness. "Somewhat. Three and a half years ago when I was only sixteen, I left my vault and came in contact with some Brotherhood members who helped me recover from some injuries I acquired while leaving my vault." Ashton took a shaky breath and sat up straight. "I then took what gear I found at the vault as well as the APC I found and came here to the Capital Wasteland three months later."

"Hold up. Brotherhood of Steel?" Lucas asked confused.

"Their goal is to recover tech so that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. They're spread out over the entire country but the Chapter here is more along the lines of protecting its people." Ashton explained. "They're good people in my opinion."

"Why didn't you go with the squad in Alaska?" Lucas asked.

"I have my reasons. I just couldn't trust anybody at that point among other events that took place." Ashton said as he gripped his fist tightly. "Anyway, after I got here, I wiped out a bunch of raiders who were going to sell some girls into slavery. I saved a girl by the name of Ashley. She didn't want to leave my side even after a random Brotherhood patrol came by and escorted the girls somewhere safe.. She came with me for the next two years and we developed a brother sister relationship." He trailed off.

"I'm guessing that something happened to here and the information you got is about her." Lucas deduced as he put two and two together.

"A year ago Ashley and I were scavenging an old military base that somehow hadn't been looted in the past two hundred years." Ashton gestured outside in the general direction of his APC. "Some of the tech like my assault rifle came from that military base."

"What happened at the base?" Lucas asked as he began to try and figure out what happened.

Ashton took off his shirt and vest to reveal two bullet shaped scars near his heart. "Slavers is what happened."

Lucas cringed at the sight of the two scars extremely close to Ashton's heart. "How are you not dead?"

"Pure fucking luck that Nasha was able to hide from the slavers and drag me back to the APC where I was able to fix myself up. These slavers weren't your typical raider type assholes. They were organized and trained. One of them managed to get the drop on me and knock me unconscious. Next thing I know, I wake up with my hands tired behind my back with some asshole in a red suit inspecting Ashley by feeling her up." Ashton growled in anger at the memory. "Fucker then taunted me before placing two bullets in my chest. Good thing he was a lousy shot."

"So that information is her location but how did Nova get it?" Lucas asked as he tried to think of any possibilities.

"Take a guess. He owns the bar, treats Gob and Nova like shit, and is a scumbag." Ashton said with annoyance.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Moriarty?" That was his only guess.

"Bingo. He sold me and Ashley out to the fucker that shot me and took Ashley." Ashton said as he picked up his sword. "Ashley is stuck at Paradise Falls."

"Paradise Falls?" Lucas asked as Wadsworth came back with a bottle of water which Lucas gratefully accepted before taking a sip.

"The place I never expected her to still be. The base of slaves who took her and where Eulogy Jones, the man who took her and shot me runs his slave ring." Ashton said as he looked at Lucas. "And we're going to wipe them and their operation off of the face of the earth."


End file.
